Friday, June 10, 2016

Fort Worth: Got Permits?

Question: What’s worse than developer Wallace Hall trying to put a concrete recycling plant near east side neighborhoods?

Answer: Developer Ken Newell operating two concrete recycling plants near east side neighborhoods without permits or public hearings!

That’s exactly what Metroplex Sand & Gravel, owned by developer Ken Newell, is doing. At least Wallace Hall followed the rules. Ken Newell has been developing without permits and expired permits for decades. Sure, he’s been caught a couple of times, but at the very worst, Fort Worth issued him a Notice of Violation and then allowed him to get the permit after the fact.

Do you think the average citizen could get away with putting a concrete recycling plant in their front yard? I don’t think so. We’re issued citations and fined for the heinous acts of leaving our trash cans at the curb too long, building a fence a few inches too high, or worse, being the victim of a house fire. And we’re subjected to an army of city inspectors when building an oh-so-potentially-hazardous storage shed in our backyard.

Meanwhile, Ken Newell is allowed to operate concrete recycling plants without permits, public hearings, and inspections. These are industrial activities which spew carbon dioxide, silica, and dust into the air, into our lungs, and into our homes on the east side of Fort Worth.

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and the City of Fort Worth’s Environmental Division of Air Quality claim they were unaware of these operations until Wallace Hall’s plans brought attention to concrete recycling activities.

Anyone want to bet what the consequences for developer Ken Newell will be?

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About Me

Mary lives on the east side of Fort Worth with her husband Larry where they farm about 200 acres in the Trinity River bottoms. In 2010, their lives were changed by unpermitted gas drilling and construction next door to their home which affected the natural flow of water in the area and resulted in unprecedented flooding of their farm. They quickly learned their elected officials and government agencies were more interested in the well-being of the gas drilling industry and developers than their constituents and are fighting back!